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The Breakfast Buffet: Mike Anderson, Houston plays its way off top seed line, Oregon’s return

Who’s hungry for college basketball?

Here’s today’s installment of “The Breakfast Buffet”, a daily column that can be found here every single morning getting you caught up to date on everything that’s happened from the day/night before and everything that’s going to happen in the next 24 hours.

Mangia!

Things To Sample

Mike Anderson sent a message
There’s a reason why this guy hasn’t had a losing season as a head coach — he doesn’t flinch. 25 days after St. John’s gave up 97 points in a loss to Creighton (Marcus Zegarowski DNP), the Red Storm held Villanova to just 59 on Wednesday night in what is now Anderson’s best win since he took his current post. St. John’s forced Villanova to do things it wasn’t comfortable doing in the 11-point victory and completely took the Wildcats out of their rhythm offensively. Anderson has the Red Storm ahead of schedule. At 12-7 overall and riding a five-game winning streak, St. John’s has the depth, coaching, and point guard play with Posh Alexander to make the 2021 NCAA Tournament. 

Houston’s is officially out of the discussion for a number one seed 
A two seed may be difficult to achieve as well. The Cougars’ loss to East Carolina on Wednesday night was brutal for a number of reasons, but the biggest is that it officially ends Houston’s chances to be one of the NCAA Tournament’s top four seeds on Selection Sunday. The Cougars’ vintage defense was non-existent as they surrendered 82 points against an East Carolina team that hadn’t won a game since Dec. 22nd and entered Wednesday’s tilt on a five-game losing streak. This was the first time that Houston allowed an opponent to score more than 80 points in a game since Nov. 2019.

Oregon finally returns to action
The Ducks have played just one game in 25 days due to a lengthy COVID-19 pause and that game was a home loss to Oregon State that came without both LJ Figueroa and Chris Duarte. As usual, Oregon (9-3) is expected to compete for a Pac-12 regular season title under Dana Altman and it will be interesting to see just how much rust this team has tonight at home against Washington State. Altman announced on Wednesday that Eric Williams (12.3 points, 6.3 rebounds) will likely not be available against the Cougars due to COVID-19 protocols. Will Richardson — who was expected to be Oregon’s starting point guard this season — has yet to play this year due to a thumb injury. 

On The Side

  • The best rivalry game in college basketball on Saturday isn’t Duke-North Carolina, it’s UCLA-USC. First place in the Pac-12 will be on the line when these two programs clash at the Galen Center. One question though: Why is the game tipping off at 10 PM ET/7 PM PT? A game of this caliber needs to be showcased in a better window. 
  • Chris Holtmann announced on Wednesday that Ohio State’s Jimmy Sotos will miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury. This is the second reserve point guard that the Buckeyes have lost this season as Abel Porter — a grad transfer from Utah State — was also sidelined earlier in the year for the rest of his career due to a non COVID-19 medical condition. Ohio State returns to action tonight at Iowa.
  • One thing I never thought I’d write: Kentucky will need to win the SEC Tournament to reach the NCAA Tournament. Another thing I never thought I’d write? Kentucky has won just 31.3 percent of its games. The Wildcats are now 5-11 following their most recent loss to Missouri. 
  • The biggest difference between Loyola Chicago this year and when it went to the Final Four in 2018? Defense. The Ramblers are only allowing 50 points during their current eight-game winning streak and are ranked fifth nationally in overall defense according to KenPom.com.
  • Entering Wednesday night’s games, the combined overall records of the 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 was 99-88. Cannibalization is a real thing. 

Daily Specials

  • Ohio State at Iowa
  • Minnesota at Rutgers
  • Colorado State at Wyoming
  • Gonzaga at Pacific
  • Washington State at Oregon

Leftovers: